The following year members came up with the idea of presenting winners with a golden globe encircled with a strip of motion picture film, and mounted on a pedestal.[10]

In 1950, differing philosophies among members caused a schism within the organization, resulting in a split into two separate groups – The Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association and the Foreign Press Association of Hollywood. The separation ended in 1955 when the journalists reunited under the collective title "The Hollywood Foreign Press Association" with firm guidelines and requirements for membership.[11]

Membership meetings are held monthly, and the officers and directors are elected annually. A maximum of five journalists may be admitted to the organization each year.[13] To retain "Active" status, each member must be currently accredited by the Motion Picture Association of America and must submit clippings of their work every year to renew their Active status or be reassigned to a non-voting, "Affiliate" status.[14]

Requirements for Active membership include primary residence in Southern California and a minimum of four published articles per year. The HFPA does not release a list of acceptable publications for those articles, but they are not restricted to popular, mainstream ones.[15]

The HFPA is a non-profit organization that donates funds to children's and entertainment-related charities. The Golden Globe Awards brings in about $10 million from its television broadcast each year. The HFPA hosts an annual Grants Banquet to distribute funds; $2.1 million was donated to non-profits in 2015.[16] According to the HFPA, since 1990 more than $23.9 million has been donated to charity and used to fund scholarships and grants.[17]